MEPs call for reducing size of EP after Brexit

The European Parliament's (EP's) Constitutional Affairs Committee MEPs discussed a redistribution of the EP's seats after Brexit on 11 September 2017. The new proposal suggests cutting 51 of the 73 UK seats from the Parliament after Brexit, bringing the institution down from 751 to 700 elected representatives. These vacated seats would then be kept in store in case of a future EU enlargement, and could also be used for the envisaged pan-European lists of Parliament members.

According to the proposal, the remaining “minimal fraction” of 22 British seats could be re-distributed among the remaining 27 EU countries, to better take into account the principle of “degressive proportionality”. The suggested new distribution method would only apply once there is legal certainty and the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU becomes legally effective, according to the text. Up until then, the same distribution of seats as up to now should be maintained, the MEPs say.